Thursday, April 30, 2009

Video: Manny Pacquiao and his boxing coach Freddie Roach

Contrary to what some may think, I don't spend all my time at the Playboy Mansion! Recently when I was in L.A. for Yardbarker my good friend Elie Seckbach pointed out that my hotel was right down the road from the Wild Card Boxing Club, where Manny Pacquiao was training for his upcoming fight against Ricky Hatton. So we decided to stop by when Pacquiao was working out. Elie is buddies with Freddie Roach and the folks at Wild Card, so big thanks to him for getting us in the door to film this video:



Freddie Roach of course pumped up Pacquiao and his chances against Hatton. He also had some interesting thoughts on MMA versus boxing and some of the MMA fighters he's been training like Anderson Silva and Andrei Arlovski.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

ESPN issues correction about Yardbarker credit for Donovan McNabb's blog

Thank you ESPN for hearing me out and adding a correction to your Donovan McNabb article! Yesterday ESPN.com published an article quoting at length from McNabb's Yardbarker blog but failing to link to his blog or mention that it was on Yardbarker. I sent a couple of messages through ESPN's feedback form and ombudsman page, but did not receive responses to those. However, Yardbarker just got an email in our general mailbox from an ESPN communications rep who saw my blog post about the issue (which was featured on Yardbarker's homepage). The rep admitted the mistake and pointed to a correction made on the article.
As I mentioned in my post yesterday, Yardbarker was properly credited in ESPN's TV broadcast, which was great. I have also seen Yardbarker credited in various online news outlets, and have heard from some Barkers that Yardbarker was credited in some local TV broadcasts -- lots of media folks are crediting the source of McNabb's quotes properly. It's good to see ESPN.com admit their mistake and follow suit. I hope they continue to properly credit Yardbarker and other sources in their articles.

Lesson learned from this: if you want to get ESPN's attention, don't bother emailing them, just outline your complaints in a blog post and get it featured on Yardbarker.com -- we know they're reading our site!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ESPN lifts Donovan McNabb post from Yardbarker without giving credit

UPDATE: ESPN has issued a correction!

ESPN has an article running on its homepage right now about how Donovan McNabb is encouraged by the Eagles' picks and moves. The source for the story was McNabb's Yardbarker blog. You see how I hyperlinked that so you could go read the source yourself? Yeah, ESPN didn't do that. They mentioned that he said these things "on his blog" but did not link to it nor mention Yardbarker anywhere in the article.

The article goes on to quote from McNabb's post at length -- 211 words in total, which is 45% of his entire 464-word entry. There is virtually no information in the article besides a listing of the Eagles' picks and moves and quotes from McNabb's Yardbarker post. The bottom of the article notes that "Information from ESPN reporter Michael Smith and The Associated Press was used in this report." Again, no mention of Yardbarker.

On the bright side, it's good to see that Yardbarker is such a respected platform for athlete blogs that an athlete's blog post is quoted as if coming from a direct interview. Yardbarker verifies that all blog posts are truly from the athlete, and the media trusts our authority.

But for Yardbarker to not be mentioned or linked at all in ESPN's article feels like a deliberate sleight. ESPN has done this many times before, sometimes crediting McNabb's Yardbarker words as coming from DonovanMcNabb.com (where they do not appear), other made-up sources, or nowhere at all. To the TV folks' credit, I heard that McNabb's blog post was mentioned on Sports Center earlier today and credit was given to Yardbarker. But the web article does not give proper credit. And I may add that quoting the meatiest 45% of another's copyrighted article goes way beyond any kind of newsworthiness fair use.

ESPN has been making an effort to embrace this "new" medium of blogs recently. The clumsy Blog Buzz TV segment has been improving, so I hear. But failure to link and give proper credit to blogs has been a persistent problem. This infuriates and alientates bloggers, who are generally very mindful of proper hat-tipping netiquette.*

But anyway, is this really an issue of giving blogs credit? Or just an issue of giving proper credit to sources, period? What kind of journalism is being practiced in these ESPN "news" articles? Was AP the one who lifted the quotes and then ESPN just followed off the AP version? Could someone at ESPN please get back to me on this? I have sent a message through their feedback form.

*I would direct ESPN to read Matt Ufford's FanHouse post from two years back, "How to Give Blogs Credit: a Handy Guide for the Mainstream Media," but alas, AOL seems to have destroyed it. Here's the Ballhype link to give you an idea of how linked up it had been at the time... high-five again, AOL. UPDATE: Thank you Matt Watson for passing along the new link where Ufford's guide lives! Too bad the old link doesn't redirect to it, but oh well.

Looking for Browns fans who are movie buffs

D'Qwell Jackson of the Cleveland Browns, who led the league in tackles last year, is running a contest on his Yardbarker blog. To win, you have to tell him which movie star he represents. Come up with the most creative answer and you can win the autographed piece of crap described in this video!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Yardbarker asks Mark Sanchez about his beautiful hair

Dewey Hammond, I owe you one. The Dew caught up with dreamy quarterback Mark Sanchez during his press conference today and asked him the question that's been on my mind: how does he keep that hair looking so touchable?



I love his initial reaction: "Who's that question from? A girl?" I had interviewed Mark during Super Bowl and hadn't thought to ask him then. Thank you Dewey, on behalf of ladies everywhere. Thank you.

You can follow all of Dewey's draft coverage from New York on Yardbarker's NFL Draft page. I highly recommend the video of Brian Cushing's press conference, during which Dewey nearly gets in a fight with a photographer.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

I think I'm a Jets fan now: Mark Sanchez is dreamy...

Mark Sanchez has grown on my slowly... He's not really my type, but I'm officially on the hunkwagon now.



Follow along with Yardbarker's live blog of the NFL Draft!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Dallas Cowboys Guarantees from Roy Williams

I caught up with Roy Williams at the Playboy Mansion and he was already talking big about next season -- more catches, #1 receiver, Super Bowl for the Cowboys...


Big ups also to Ken Hamlin for the love and to Terrence Newman for being a good sport about that rollercoaster thing.

Video: Cat Runs Across Wrigley Field

A cat streaker somehow made its way into a Chicago Cubs game, running across the field before getting man-handled by a rather rough member of the grounds crew. Poor cat!



And to move the story forward, here is another funny video of what just may be the SAME prankster cat. Here he is fronting like he wasn't trying to creep up on a pigeon:

Friday, April 17, 2009

Video: Euro-Pacman runs amock

Give it a little time... this video is pretty hilarious.



Via Geekstir.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Manny Pacquiao: always smiling, even when trying to look tough

Even when he's trying to look tough for an HBO promo spot, he can't help but smile and look friendly. Guess that's part of the reason he's the People's Champ.



I saw Pacquiao recently when I was in L.A. for Yardbarker -- stay tuned for my interview with his coach Freddie Roach and a look inside the gym where Pacquiao has been training.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Michael Strahan and Rob Riggle grunting on video

With any other personalities this might have been a little heavy-handed, but I actually think this video is pretty funny. It's for the NFL's Monster promotion, where fans compete for the dream job of NFL Director of Fandemonium. I'll always have love for Michael Strahan -- after all, he was the winner of our Yardbarker spelling bee! (Sorry, Marcellus.)

Interview with Alyssa Milano by some guy named Freddy Finals

The NBA D-League apparently has some guy named Freddy Finals traveling around doing videos for them, and today he scored big with an interview with Alyssa Milano (or Melissa Alano, as he calls her). The video below shows him trying on some of Milano's Touch clothing (for women!) but the whole series of videos is pretty cute and funny (pre-interview jitters, meeting Alyssa, the actual interview).

It reminds me of my first-ever interview with a celebrity -- I was so beside myself to be meeting Lisa Leslie that I completely fell to pieces on camera. She even leaned over to give me a hug at one point because I was such a wreck. But Freddy's a braver YouTuber than me because I never put that footage on the internet for others to see!!

Please wait 30 minutes after eating before watching this video if you are prone to motion sickness.

Happy Tax Day! Check Out This Dumb Spam...

For real, spammers? I just got the following email... seems like your typical lame phishing attempt, except for one thing (emphasis added):
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax refund value is $189.60. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to IWP the data received. If u don't receive your refund within 9 business days from the original IRS mailing date shown, you can start a refund trace online.
OMG u totally almost fooled me, fake IRS spammer! LOLZ!

New NBA Playoff Spot Featuring Kanye West

Just got word from the good folks at the NBA about a new spot featuring Kanye West's song "Amazing" off his "808 and Heartbreak" album. The spot features highlights from past playoff games that are... wait for it... AMAZING.



I think the spot is pretty hot -- if you're an NBA fan you're always going to get hyped when you see these playoff montages, and Kanye's song fits perfectly. In fact, apparently Kanye's label actually reached out to the league with the song, which is how the whole thing started. According to the NBA's SVP of Entertainment and Player Marketing Charles Rosenzweig, "All music stars want to be NBA stars and all NBA players want to be music stars." Not sure about all that, but I do like the spot. Nice job again, NBA.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Playboy Girls Love Sports Blogs!

I asked the lovely ladies of Playboy Golf what their favorite sports blogs were, and they named a bunch of Yardbarker blogs. True story!!!



Ok, so maybe I fed them a few of the names... but come on, it's still a video of hot girls talking about sports blogs... You're welcome.

By the way, this is AlanaG.com's 100th post. WOOOOO!!!! /Playboy girl voice.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Average Homeboy

"As you can see, I'm not black. I don't do drugs, and I'm not on crack." AVERAGE... HOOOOMEBOY.....



An oldie but goody... this was on Hot Clicks last year but I missed it (thanks to my above-average homeboy Kwami for the find). This Denny Blaze homeboy also has a website. Someone go check it out and let me know what the deal is.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Marcellus Wiley Would Rather Talk to Playboy Women Than to Yardbarker

When last we saw Ryan Sims of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he was joking about the tasers Playboy gave out to NFL players in their goody bags. Well now he thinks he can be a Yardbarker correspondent, so I gave him a tough first assignment: Marcellus Wiley. Usually Dat Dude loves showing his mug on camera, but not when there are beautiful Playboy women to mack on, apparently.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Video: Frank Shamrock Training... with Alana G??

MMA legend Frank Shamrock has a huge fight this Saturday night versus Nick Diaz. It will be Strikeforce's debut on SHOWTIME and judging from the talk Shamrock has been doing on his Yardbarker blog, it's going to be a great event. When he wins, I will be taking partial credit for helping him train, as seen in this video from one of his gyms in San Jose, CA.



No Alana G's were harmed in the making of this video.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Happy Birthday Hef!

Happy birthday Hef! Today is Hugh Hefner's birthday, so let's give him some love....



I was so excited for Amy, the girl whose phone number Hef asked for... It's not really like a guy asking for your phone number, it's more like getting an offer for a really great new job. I hope she makes it to the mansion. Much love also to my buddy Carly Lynn, the gorgeous girl in the peacock lingerie!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Local News in L.A. Shows Yardbarker Video, Credits YouTube

Ohh mainstream media! I took the time to add a Yardbarker logo to my Andrew Bynum hula hoop video, and I even put the link to my Yardbarker post about it on the YouTube page of the video. But Fox's Channel 11 in L.A. covered the logo and credited the video to "YouTube." Oh well, at least the local news viewing population got to enjoy Bynum and his hula hooping.

Here's the clip of the newscast, courtesy of "Television."



I mean... courtesy of Elie Seckbach of ESNEWS. Thanks for adding a Yardbarker.com subtitle Elie!

Playboy Gives TASERS to NFL Players

One of the strangest non-boob-related things about Playboy's Celebrity Golf Scramble was the choice of items for the goody bags... athletes and celebrities were given tasers. Because that's what you need when you're enjoying a weekend of golf, girls, and booze, of course!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Jose Canseco Loves to Hit on Married Women

While at the Playboy Mansion, I had a nice little conversation with Jose Canseco about steroids, A-Rod, and his amazing ability to smash a golf ball. But he kept getting distracted by all the beautiful women... who he claimed were all married. I caught up with him several times during Playboy Golf's weekend and he was complaining about the married women every time.



Gotta love Jose -- he was very nice to me the whole weekend and never got upset with me sticking the camera in his face, even while he was getting his mack on. Much love! Go buy his books! And stay tuned to Yardbarker's Playboy Golf page for more...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Has There Ever Been a Black Bachelor? Just Curious.

I don't watch the ABC show "The Bachelor" but I've seen it around on "Talk Soup" and such. Am I tripping, or have they never had a black bachelor (or bachelorette)? I'm sure in each season they have a token sista who gets eliminated in early rounds, but have they ever had a black main character? Or is "For the Love of Ray-J" all there is?

Again, I've never watched the show, so someone let me know if I'm off base. And to make this somewhat relevant, the accompanying photo is of Jesse Csincsak, the winner of the last Bachelorette. He was getting his mack on at one of the Playboy Golf parties last weekend. Click over to Yardbarker for my full coverage of the Playboy Golf events.

P.S. I nominate Pops Mensah-Bonsu to be the next Bachelor.